It’s fair to say that I’m not one of those in thrall of the Olympics. Whenever Governments and sports collude – let alone tilt towards the former’s interests – it descends to political/nationalistic tub-thumping.
If I ever want to watch swimming…only joking, of course, as that would never happen! But the best Athletics have their golden games, Basketball has the NBA – you get my drift?
And I know that, for the time being, despite a sullied image and much irrelevance, every 4 years the hype (aka media junkets and multinational advertisers) turns on TVs and the circus goes on (national anthem please!).
Given, therefore, that the Olympics are unlikely to be immediately disbanded on the back of my disinterest, can we revisit and discuss a proposal that may have some credibility, at least by eliminating the sordid bidding process and hopefully diluting IOC power.
John Nauright, Professor of Sport and Leisure Management at the University of Brighton, has proposed a permanent site for the Games. This piece is taken from The Conversation last November.
Reaction?
Would the location have any impact on your care factor?
Are you anti-Olympics on moral/ financial / self interest grounds or is the issue more that it is always tainted by who’s on what irrespective of where it’s held?
My guess is you just don’t like the hooplah that goes with it and I don’t reckon a permanent site would make any difference.
I’m apathetic. Just reckoned it seemed a better solution than the current debacle.
Interesting Crio.
Sport as entertainment has come a long way.
The Hollywood Games of 1984 (tellingly) were a glimpse of the future.
The Coca-Cola Games of 1996 embarrassing for all.
For most, it could all be beamed from a Hollywood basement, for all the difference it would make.
For the athletes, I suspect that conditions and food would be pretty homogenised these days. Air-conditioned to within a 1/4 degree C of sports scientists recommendations; food control likewise. Venue shouldn’t matter (control the controllables)
For the TV audience, the only issue would be timing relative to local prime time.
For local crowds, it would matter of course. But then, they would be saved the tax burden and lifestyle inconvenience of large scale civic construction in the years leading up to the Games.
A full time venue should work.
Athens seems about right.
The suburb of LA.
“Athens is a predominantly black, heavily Hispanic, relatively prosperous unincorporated community in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles County, California, numbering 9,101 people in the 2000 census. It is the site of Los Angeles Southwest College.” – wikipedia
Athens, Georgia perhaps? REM could be the permanent opening / closing act
Olympics Shmolympics.
I barely watched them last time.
But there is something worse in terms of nationalism: the Commonwealth Games.
…and Davis Cup etc. But they’ll certainly all fade away.
Highlights for me have been few – Cathy Freeman obviously, otherwise middle distance running events are my favourites, middle to long distance freestyle swimming and not much more. Archery? – why not jousting and falconry? Having said that I’d probably retain Graeco-Roman wrestling but only with Roy and HG commentating. Agree with your point about other sports that have their own championships not being included. Tennis and now golf are most ludicrous.